Tuesday, April 29, 2008 is the date for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals at 7:00 p.m. at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052. Admissions is free and open to the public.
Caila Booth, Buffalo High School, will represent Wyoming. Her compelling recitations of Sylvia Plath's "Fever 103," "America" by Claude McKay and "Insomnia" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti won her 1st place in the state competition.
The Wyoming Arts Council's Mike Shay will also be attending the event.
America
By Claude McKay
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
